Lung abscesses and jaundice due to prolonged Escherichia coli bacteremia associated with pyelonephritis: a forgotten entity.

We describe a previously healthy, middle-aged patient with prolonged bacteremia and Escherichia coli presenting with jaundice and lung abscesses. At presentation, a paucity of respiratory signs and symptoms was found, although the patient appeared to be very ill. The cavitary pulmonary lesions and jaundice were due to hematogenous spread of E. coli from a pyelonephritis. Pulmonary abscesses and jaundice in the setting of prolonged bacteremia due to pyelonephritis was frequently observed before the antibiotic era. Nowadays, it is almost a forgotten phenomenon.